Mariss Jansons

Latvia's Mariss Jansons was one of the most important conductors to have emerged from the Soviet Union in the last years of its existence. He led major orchestras in Europe and the U.S. and amassed a large catalog of recordings. Jansons was born January 14, 1943, in German-occupied Latvia; his mother, who was Jewish, had fled the capital to give birth. Both her father and her uncle were killed. After the war, Jansons studied violin with his father and then enrolled at the Leningrad Conservatory (now the St. Petersburg Conservatory), studying conducting and piano. He was able ...